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CNN Live Event/Special

Donald Trump's Hush Money Trial; Trump Hush Money Trial, Stormy Daniels Takes The Witness Stand. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired May 07, 2024 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:30:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: And just minutes, adult film star and director Stormy Daniels takes the witness stand inside that Manhattan courtroom. Stick right here, you're watching CNN's special live coverage of Donald Trump's hush money cover up trial We are going to squeeze in a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I think this is clearly strategic. This is a predominantly male prosecution team. Two of the lead prosecutors, both men, have done the direct examination of most of the key witnesses. So, I think it was strategic to have Susan do this.

Now, a lot of curiosity about Trump's reaction. He's right now whispering to his lawyer. As you said, when she walks in, she's going to walk in behind the defense table. We're told that Trump's son, Eric Trump, who is sitting in the gallery, would be able to see her, did watch her as she walked across to the witness stand. Unclear what Trump's reaction was.

But this is a challenging witness. You want to get out the information you need. But you're dealing with sex. You're dealing with a former porn star. It's an incredibly delicate task that Susan Hoffinger has in front of her right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEWS HOST: And what a strange, historic moment this is. What, 18 years in the making? The alleged encounter was 2006, 2007?

REID: Yes.

BERMAN: All the way back then, 2016, the hush money payments were made. Anderson, 20 -- what was it? 2018? When all of a sudden, the interviews that you conducted?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Trump was facing forward as she walked past him and then turned to look toward her as she stepped up to the witness stand.

BERMAN: And I have to believe, whatever happened in that room, allegedly back in 2006, 2007, Donald Trump never thought he would be in a courtroom facing criminal charges with things connected to it right now. But just --

COOPER: Trump is repeatedly glancing in Stormy Daniels' direction which is interesting, I mean, just given the -- it's -- the -- you know, where everybody is seated. Kaitlan Collins was talking yesterday, saying she talked to a former witness who said that when you're actually on the witness stand, it is very difficult to see Donald Trump when you're testifying in order to see him because of the makeup of the courtroom and that -- the size of the judge's bench. You actually have to, kind of, lean forward to purposely look at Donald Trump if you wanted to.

[10:35:00]

REID: That's exactly right. But it would be easy for Trump. I mean, he only needs to turn his head just a little bit to be able to have a pretty good chance of spotting her. In order to the prosecutors or his lawyer, he has to turn behind him. It's a pretty crowded courtroom.

But it's interesting. She's introducing herself as Stormy Daniels. We know her name is Stephanie Clifford. We're also hearing that she's speaking very quickly. Not surprisingly, likely very nervous during this historic appearance in this trial.

BERMAN: This is different than sitting down even with you Anderson for an interview or with Jimmy Kimmel, which he did also. I mean, now she is under oath, really recounting parts of this story for the first time.

COOPER: And Trump repeatedly glancing Stormy Daniel's direction. I mean, this is -- anybody, no matter how confident you are, no matter how much experience you have in front of cameras. Daniel says, she's testifying because she was subpoenaed. Actually, sitting in a witness box, testifying in front of a jury when you are there, it is a very daunting thing.

REID: It is incredibly daunting. And this is someone who's been through a lot. She recently released a documentary. So, Daniels is speaking, as I just said, she's speaking quickly. She's turning her head toward the jury as she answers questions. That's probably the safest space in this courtroom, right? You don't -- may not necessarily want to look at the prosecutors. They can be intimidating. Certainly, the defense table.

So, looking at the jurors, it's a really diverse cross section of Manhattanites. They would be immediately to her left. Probably the easiest thing in the courtroom for her to look at as she tells her story and answers these questions.

COOPER: It's also something that prosecutors often counsel a witness to do to make -- you know, it is the jurors who are going to be making these decisions. You want to have the jury connect with the person on the witness stand. So that as much as the juror -- as the witness can talk to the jurors, actually make eye contact can be effective. The prosecutor begins by asking Daniels about her background.

BERMAN: This has already come. Everything to this point has come at an enormous expense to Stormy Daniels. She's on the hook for what? $600 plus thousand right now --

REID: Yes.

BERMAN: -- for violations of the non-disclosure agreement. So, this is all really taken over her life.

REID: It has. And it's a reminder so many people in proximity to Trump, right? If you sit right outside the Oval Office, if you're his secretary, if you're a lawyer, these people wind up in these extraordinary situations. Testifying in court. Testifying in Congress. You know, possibly even being indicted.

Now, the prosecutor is beginning. Asking what clubs and hobbies Daniels was involved in during high school. Now, we also do have some color about how Daniels is presenting herself in court today. Now, Daniels, interestingly, she says she was editor of her high school paper and in the 4-H Club because, of course, this is pretty well known about her. She loves horses. She bought a horse farm and that's actually at risk because of all the legal money that she owes Trump.

COOPER: Daniels is speaking quickly, giving the court reporter a bit of trouble. The prosecutor asked her to slow down. We've seen this with a number of witnesses where they will be speaking fast and the court reporter will actually sometimes say, like, stop, and ask for the person to re-say what they said.

BERMAN: She loves horses. Also, horses were part of one of the slurs --

REID: Yes.

BERMAN: -- that Donald Trump publicly hurled at her. I'm just going to repeat it so people know what I'm talking about.

COOPER: Stormy Daniels says, my mother was very neglectful. She would just disappear for days at a time.

BERMAN: It does seem like they're trying to make her into a person with dimension. The 4-H, the school newspaper, the relationship with her mother.

COOPER: Daniels was 17, she says, when she moved out of her home.

BERMAN: Yes, they want to make her more than just an adult film actress and director.

COOPER: Daniels says, she got into exotic dancing by accident.

REID: And in her documentary, she talks about how exotic dancing and then eventually her career in porn, that was her ticket out of what she said was a very difficult life. This was a way for her to support herself to make money and move beyond the situation that she was born into.

Our colleagues inside, they described Daniels as wearing her hair tied back, sort of, a messy bun. She's wearing black glasses. And she has an outfit that they said is a pretty high neck top, falls just below her collarbone and paired with a pretty loosely fitting jacket.

You know, I think there are a lot of people who are curious about exactly how she would present herself in court today. There's been a cross-section in terms of all the witnesses, in terms of the formality of dress. But that's how she's chosen to present herself as she sits on this witness stand and answers some difficult questions.

COOPER: And again -- I mean, you referenced this, John. But just -- what an extraordinary moment. The former president of the United States, sitting there. And according to people in the court, he's been repeatedly glancing over. Her friend told her she was a dancer, which she thought referred to the same styles that she did.

What must be going through Donald Trump's mind to see this? Daniel says, which was ballet, jazz, and tap. I was wrong. She was an exotic dancer.

BERMAN: Different than ballet, jazz, and tap in this case. I think what's going through Donald's mind is, again, how, how did I get here? This is what he wanted to avoid. Now, granted --

COOPER: Her dancing, Daniel says, she could make more in two nights than shoveling manure eight hours a day. Blanche whispered something to Trump and he smiled. Trump did not smile.

BERMAN: All this information, Donald Trump did not want out there in 2016, days before the election. Now, it is getting out there, obviously, much different timing.

COOPER: Daniel says, she started nude modeling at 21. Trump is no longer looking in the direction of the witness stand, but at the monitor instead. Explain the monitor situation --

REID: Yes.

COOPER: --- because until you're actually in the court, it's sort of confusing.

[10:40:00]

REID: Yes. So, Daniel says, that while she was working at the club, they had traveling entertainers come in and she decided she wanted to do that. She wanted to take her show as it were on the road. So, she said, you have to have a reason to be the headliner. The way to do that is to pose for a magazine or to do competitions or adult movies. And we know she kind of chose, really, all of the above.

But inside the court, there are monitors, sort of, like a concert. Not every view is a great one. So, you have little monitors inside. So, he has a four screen --

COOPER: Daniels says, she was 21 when she started posing for magazines.

REID: -- and so, he can see her on the screen. He can see different parts of the court on that monitor. It's just a lot easier to see because it's a large courtroom, not terribly well laid out, but I think the concert analogy is the easiest. It's usually easier to see on the screen unless you're sitting really up close --

COOPER: Daniels says, you could either do contests. They're a real -- these are a real thing. You can literally win this nude -- North America. She's talking about, essentially, how she became kind of a headline entertainer. Did there come a time when you also worked in the adult film industry, Hoffinger is saying? Yes, Daniel says.

BERMAN: There's a lot of nudity. There's a lot of adult film. There's a lot of posing. A lot of exotic dancing. The jury is hearing all of this. It's also rapid fire. To what extent has she practiced this with prosecutors?

REID: I would expect it to be extensive preparation. She's not someone who has really ever done this. She's been involved in litigation related to Trump, certainly. But this is not someone who's likely been called in to many different cases. It's intimidating.

If you -- again, if you watch her documentary, her version of events is that this has really destroyed her life. This made her difficult for her to earn a living. This is a really traumatic experience. That's how she kind of leaves off at the end of the documentary.

Again, this is her presentation of events, but this is incredibly stressful. So, I would imagine prosecutors have coached her extensively, gone through all the things they want to talk about, and then, of course, the things that they expect that they will bring up on redirect and -- direct -- excuse me, cross.

COOPER: Cross.

REID: That is going to be a very uncomfortable cross-examination.

COOPER: She actually owes money to Donald Trump.

REID: Hundreds of thousands of dollars.

COOPER: Because the court --

REID: Her house is at risk.

COOPER: And that, obviously, is going up with interest. Jurors are taking notes, alternately watching Daniels and the prosecutor.

I want to bring in Karen Friedman Agnifilo as well. She's the Former Chief Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan DA's office. Karen is, of course, counsel for a firm that represents Michael Cohen. She has no contact with Cohen. She does not work on his case and there are no restrictions on what she can say about this case. Karen, first of all, what are your thoughts about Stormy Daniels now on the stand, the importance of this moment?

KAREN FRIEDMAN AGNIFILO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think this is a good call for the prosecutors to really redirect the jury about what this case is really about. It's really about trying to silence Stormy Daniels and not have the information that she has come out before the election. And so much so that they went through great pains to hide the source of this money so that these facts would not come out.

So, I think it's really good that the prosecution is where you're at the heart of the case right now with Stormy Daniels.

COOPER: Karen, I just want to say, Stormy Daniels is saying -- they're talking about how she got into the adult industry. She says, I was honestly kind of scared to do it. A friend said, I'll do it with you. Just doing one, you can say you've done it and I'll bump you up in pay grade. She's saying, by doing adult films, she could make more as an exotic dancer touring around in various clubs. Daniel says, she won 11 Best Director awards and two Best Screenplays in adult film industry.

Daniel appears very relaxed on the stand, according to our reporters inside the courtroom. Leaning on the chair arm, gesturing as she speaks, laughing casually as she recounts her work experience. I'll cut out a lot of the details, Daniel says with a laugh, and probably great relief to many in the court.

Karen, how long do you think she -- this will go on for? Because Stormy Daniels does not necessarily have direct knowledge about -- she had, you know, direct contact with Donald Trump in terms of negotiating this payment. The prosecutor asked Daniels to slow down again because she's speaking very quickly.

AGNIFILO: So, what's happening right now is the prosecutor is trying to get her comfortable. They have a woman prosecutor talking to her because they are going to talk about intimate, personal things, right? I think you will also -- I expect that Susan Necheles, who is on the defense team, who we haven't really seen yet do anything in court, I suspect she is going to be the one cross-examining her based on the fact that she was the one, earlier today, asking that certain details about the sex. She asked the court that that not come in.

And so, what the prosecutors are doing today is they are going to show all the contact that Donald Trump had with Stormy Daniels, and it's more than once. Yes, they only had sex once. But there were multiple times that they would meet up, that they would talk on the phone, and that there were promises that she would be on "The Apprentice", but then she wasn't on. They had dinner at some point.

[10:45:00]

So, they're going to talk about all the different times they had contact. And then later when they -- there came a time to negotiate this NDA, she will talk about how she tried to sell this story years before, but there was no market for it. But then around the time of the election, that's when it became much more valuable to her -- to Trump or to be able to sell her story. So, I think it's key.

COOPER: Yes, Karen, Stormy Daniels on the stand. Says she's written one book called "Full Disclosure". So, she's in the process of finishing up two other books set to come out next year. She was also giving testimony about some of the more mainstream movies. She's been in "40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up", among two of them, as well as appearing in music videos.

Daniel says, she also had a podcast called "Beyond the Norm". "It's everything that is beyond the norm", she says, while looking at the jury.

Jake, let's go back to you.

TAPPER: Thanks, Anderson. So, yes, we have Stormy Daniels on the stand right now in Donald Trump's hush money cover up case. And she's talking about how she got into the world of adult films, and also, as you mentioned, Anderson, talking about some of the more mainstream entertainment projects she's been in.

The jury, we're told, is not reacting to her laughs, and at time, her blunt -- at times, her blunt testimony. And what is the purpose, Bill Brennan, of the prosecutors eliciting from her the information, not only about how she got into the world of adult films, pornographic films, but also that she had been in a Maroon 5 video. That she had been in a Rob Zombie video. That she had been in at least two works by alter (ph) Judd Apatow. The "Knocked Up", in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin".

Asked if she discussed Trump in connection with politics on her podcast, she says, yes, of course. She no longer hosts the podcast because she was fired. What is the purpose of all this from the -- because the prosecution is doing this.

WILLIAM J. BRENNAN, FORMER TRUMP PAYROLL CORP. ATTORNEY: Jake, I think the prosecutor, Ms. Hoffinger, is trying to humanize Stormy Daniels before this jury. But the latest reports say that, you know, they don't seem to be reacting to her laughs or not laughing with her. I mean, it seems like a lot of information that's irrelevant to what we're looking for in this trial. And if she comes across as glib, it's going to backfire --

TAPPER: Yes.

BRENNAN: -- to the prosecutor.

TAPPER: She said, I was reluctant to just continue talking about that one narrative, you know, this case, Daniel says. So, I guess, Elie Honig, she's suggesting that the reason she no longer hosts the podcast, she was fired from it is because she kind of wanted to move on from this one issue. And the podcaster probably, I'm guessing here, thought, well, that's really what you're known for so we want you to talk about that.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Right.

TAPPER: Trump, we're told, is leaning back in his chair, shifting a little in his seat.

HONIG: So, I think a happening here. I agree with Bill. I think they're trying to humanize her for the jury. I'm not actually worried from the prosecutor's point of view about what the jury is going to make of the adult film business and her involvement in it. This is a Manhattan jury. I've tried cases in front of Manhattan juries involving strip clubs and a shakedown of pornography industry. So, they're fine. They're all grownups.

TAPPER: Right now, she's talking about the draft Stormy campaign for Senate in Louisiana, even though she wasn't serious about running for Senate. David Vitter never actually would debate me, she says. David Vitter was the incumbent Republican senator in Louisiana. No longer in public life.

HONIG: The other thing -- and this is a perfect example. The other thing I think prosecutors are trying to do is sort of front the fact that she has made a career of sorts out of this. Between her podcast, her attempts to run for office, her books. They don't want that coming out uncrossed. They want to show the jury right up front. Look, she's essentially made a living off this. You know, we're giving it to you, jury, right up front. Let's see some updates.

TAPPER: Right. And the prosecution is moving on to the alleged interlude that Stormy Daniels had with Mr. Trump. The prosecutor is directing her to July 2006, the month in question.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Just to, perhaps, be Captain Obvious here. I think it, sort of, bears all of us, sort of, taking a moment. Wicked sponsored one the holes on the golf course, which yes, I know is very funny where an adult film company sponsoring one of the holes, she says. The jurors did not --

TAPPER: Right, let's -- the jurors did not laugh.

BASH: -- laugh.

TAPPER: Neither did I.

BASH: But, yes. But --

TAPPER: Or Kasie.

BASH: -- the whole entire --

KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I wasn't laughing here.

BASH: -- the whole entire reason for this case is because Donald Trump didn't want any of this to come out.

TAPPER: Yes.

BASH: And here we are, all these years later, with it not just coming out, but him actually being face to face with this woman who he had to quote you, "An encounter with". And him being a defendant in a criminal trial and it being not only front-page news, it being a kind of this unbelievable moment in American history now that he's a former president and current candidate.

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: You know, I'm -- I've been in front of so many juries, particularly, jurors who I know are not overwhelmingly prudish. I mean, there are -- there's a reality. The best way to prep this witness, Stormy Daniels, is to have her own -- the fact that this was a transactional encounter.

She's not professing to, and she's alleging this has happened. If true, she's not professing there was a love affair. That there is somehow a long-standing relationship. She talks about having met him at the golf course in July of 2006.

[10:50:00]

It was a very brief encounter, she says.

She comes in today saying, call me Stormy Daniels not Stephanie Clifford. She's not running from her background at all nor should she. This is something that she has been proud of throughout her career. And I think that as for the jurors' sake, the more that she leans into the fact that I am going to tell you what it is. Here's what happened. Here's what went down, and here's what I was paid for.

The more she tries to suggest that this was somehow longer or more than it was, it's different. Of course, he appears to be staring straight ahead, too, watching her on the camera feed in front of him as opposed to watching her directly.

TAPPER: I want to bring in Brian Stelter who's a contributing writer to "Vanity Fair". A long-time media correspondent. Obviously, had a celebrated career here at CNN. Brian, this is a bizarre moment in history, for sure. Stormy Daniels on the stand as Donald Trump is also in the courtroom. He's staring straight ahead, appearing to watch her on the camera feed in front of him instead of watching her in person.

Stormy Daniels said, all she knew about Trump at the time that they met in July 2006 at this celebrity golf tournament is that he was a golfer and had a reality show that she had never seen called "Celebrity Apprentice". Remember, this is 2006, so that is actually not so unusual that that's all she would know about him. Brian?

BRIAN STELTER, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, VANITY FAIR: Yes, and I think that's a great moment to think about 2006. Who was Donald Trump in 2006? Because all of this is a blast from the past. We're getting a little bit of a reality TV history lesson right here, Jake.

In 2006, when Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump --

TAPPER: Yes, let me interrupt for one second, Brian.

STELTER: Yes.

TAPPER: And I'm going to be doing this throughout because --

STELTER: Yes, of course. Of course.

TAPPER: -- of the reports from inside the courtroom. Stormy Daniels says she was 27 at the time of their meeting in July 2006. "He was as old or older than my father", Daniel says of Trump. Adding that her father was 60. I think that he --

STELTER: Right, and Trump was about 60 at the time as well. But he was at the height of his powers as a reality TV show star at the time. "The Apprentice" was one of the biggest shows on TV.

HUNT: Huge. Absolutely huge. And Daniels said she was introduced to Trump as a director, which is an interesting way to introduce Stormy Daniels. I guess she was technically a Stormy -- a director, Stormy Daniels, although not necessarily of any sort of film that Mr. Trump would want to do a cameo in as he did in "Home Alone 2".

You direct "2", you must be the smart one, Trump told her, according to this.

STELTER: And this gets in -- yes. This gets now the two are introducing to each other. They're getting to know each other. Donald Trump -- "The Apprentice" is interesting, Jake, because it kind of resembles the popularity approval ratings for Donald Trump when in office. He starts out pretty high. "The Apprentice" was one of the biggest shows on TV, and as the seasons go on, it gets less and less popular. The ratings decline over time.

But back in 2006, he was a huge television star. And I think that's an important context of what we're talking about here is he has the billionaire real estate portfolio but he's a TV star. And that's how Stormy knows him.

TAPPER: Daniel says, she later ran into Trump at the gift shop at this golf tournament. So, this is all just the narrative of how this encounter came to be. People who have been following the story probably know most of the details already from her book or her interview with Anderson Cooper, or the news stories at the time when they broke.

Later at the gift shop, Daniels said Trump remembered her. He remembered me specifically that I was the smart one, she said, putting her hands in quotes. Attorney Susan Hoffinger, the -- of the prosecution asks Daniels to identify Trump in the courtroom.

Wow. This is really like an actual scene in a movie. Can you identify the defendant here in the courtroom as if, you know. Who is it you could possibly be talking about? What a mystery. I'm sure nobody in that room has any idea who she's talking about. The 45th President of the United States.

STELTER: This has to be giving him flashbacks as well. 2006, he's newly married to Melania. He has a new -- brand-new son named Barron. And he's off at this golf tournament, maybe taking a little bit of a break from the family.

TAPPER: Daniels looks around the courtroom, and she spots him. And I'm sure she is going to point him out to the prosecution, Attorney Susan Hoffinger.

Let me just take one break from you for a second to turn to our attorneys here. Daniels points and says, he's the one in the navy blue jacket. Laura, is this -- I mean, do you have to do this? Can you do -- I mean, because obviously there isn't anybody on planet Earth who doesn't know who Donald Trump is.

COATES: Of course, and yet you have to sort of check off the box of the formality. This is the defendant you're talking about. This is the person we're at issue. And so, just kind of checking off that box, there's no issue.

TAPPER: OK. Let's talk about the --

BRENNAN: One other thing.

TAPPER: Yes.

BRENNAN: Are you kidding me? Daniels looks around the courtroom.

COATES: Oh, yes. There's that.

BRENNAN: And then spots him. Oh, there he is. She walked by. She knew where he was. I mean, this is -- she's performing right now.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: She can't see him from where she's sitting. Our understanding is that what she did is she leans around because --

TAPPER: She leans around --

GANGEL: -- because it's blocked --

BRENNAN: Jamie, I spent eight weeks in that courtroom. There is a visibility obstacle.

GANGEL: Right.

BRENNAN: But when she walked up that center aisle, she saw where he was sitting. She can just go, yes. He's right there. Well, not all -- oh, there he is.

TAPPER: She is a performer, let us remember.

HUNT: Can I ask --

TAPPER: Donald Trump appears to look in her direction as she pointed to him but made a visible reaction. The jury is seating -- is seeing the photo of Daniels next to Trump.

[10:55:00]

In the photo, he's wearing a yellow golf short -- shirt and a red hat. There it is. We know that photograph well. I'm sure Trump is shuffling through papers in front of him, as the photo is shown on the screen for jurors. Kasie?

HUNT: I just -- one thing that I've been, sort of, noticing as this has gone on is that there have been a couple times where she seems to be cracking a joke, trying to get a reaction from the jury. And our reporters in the room have noted that the jury hasn't seemed to respond to that.

TAPPER: No, they're taking her job seriously.

HUNT: I mean, what do you make of that?

HONIG: Yes, well, humor is risky in the courtroom, especially if you go in with lines like it looks like Stormy. If something happens spontaneously, if an easel falls over, people will laugh. They're human. But it's never going to work if you go in there like I'm going to amuse the jury. I'm going to sort of say this clever thing. That said, I think Stormy Daniels from what we've seen, I think, is relatable, and I don't think the jury's horrified by her. But yes, it's risky to do that.

HUNT: It's -- yes.

TAPPER: Well, she's -- look, she's 45 years old. She's been living in the world of adult film and video for, you know, more than 20 years. She's probably a little bit nervous.

HONIG: Yes.

HUNT: Yes.

TAPPER: She's making some jokes. And look, she's there as a witness. The jury as, by all accounts, is taking this case very seriously. Every reporter in that room says, they're completely attentive even when the most boring details are being described. They are taking notes. They are watching witnesses. It doesn't surprise me at all that they wouldn't laugh, even if they thought it was funny.

(CROSSTALK)

BRENNAN: Nobody wants Shecky Greene in that witness box if you're the lawyer.

COATES: But you know --

BRENNAN: Listen to the question and answer it.

TAPPER: Right.

COATES: I was in --

BRENNAN: Keep it for the lounge.

COATES: Sorry.

BRENNAN: Sorry, Laura.

COATES: I was in the courtroom, and when you heard laughter during Hope Hicks' testimony, it came from the people in the audience. It did not come from the jurors. She was nervously laughing. People recognize the idea of the nervous tick, the nervous giggle.

And we've seen Stormy actually be interviewed, and she has sort of a smirk and a laugh easily at the end of every sentence. She also -- this is a photo of Mr. Trump at the golf course that she's pointing to. So, the idea of the jurors -- I mean, again, the jurors themselves are going to be self-conscious.

TAPPER: So, Trump's bodyguard asked -- this is according to Stormy Daniels. Trump's bodyguard asked if she would have dinner with Mr. Trump, and her response was, according to her, eff, no. Probably with less acronym, but eff no.

COATES: Yes.

HUNT: Well, she actually did say eff, according to our team.

TAPPER: Oh, she did say it.

HUNT: On the -- on this -- on the stand just now, she used the letter F.

TAPPER: Oh, she's in --

HUNT: Not the full word.

TAPPER: No, no. I get it.

HUNT: But at the time --

TAPPER: In real life, she probably didn't say, eff no. But the point is she was not interested in having dinner with him. The bodyguard coming in to see if she would have dinner with Mr. Trump.

COATES: But this tells me, though, there is -- I mean, I know it's a slight thing, but there is a level of decorum that happens in a courtroom that you're trained to say, that you would be a little self- conscious about dropping the eff bomb. That jurors would not want to be laughing because they have been told and instructed, let me check that again, not to show your hand, to listen to all of the evidence. They are self-conscious about how they are on display.

When they walked into the courtroom, you've got an audience full of recognizable reporters and journalists who are sitting there watching you trying to figure out who you are. They were self-conscious. They would often look back to the audience and wonder who's staring back at them. Would they be identified? Remember, a juror, the very first day after being in panel said, my anonymity is compromised.

TAPPER: So, she just identified this bodyguard as Keith Schiller. And for those of you at home, Keith Schiller was the former Director of Security for the Trump Organization. Mr. Trump, unlike Michael Cohen, did bring Keith Schiller with him to the White House.

He's a former law enforcement officer. He served as Deputy Assistant to U.S. President Trump and Director of Oval Office Operations. Although in this telling, he's serving a different role.

BASH: And years later --

COATES: Didn't he also --

BASH: -- years later --

COATES: -- he fired, Comey, right?

GANGEL: Yes.

BASH: He delivered the letter to James Comey telling him he was fired.

HUNT: Yes.

TAPPER: Right.

HUNT: But at this period of time, you could not encounter Donald Trump without encountering Keith Schiller, basically, at the same time. I mean, they went everywhere together. Like, if you covered -- when Trump went down the Golden Escalator, that was another instance where I had actually been covering Trump for several years before --

TAPPER: Keith Schiller, by the way --

HUNT: -- that happened.

TAPPER: At this moment, Keith Schiller takes her cell phone number and then messages her later.

HUNT: Right. And if you wanted to get in touch with Trump during this period of time, remember, he started engaging in politics well before the 2016 election. I had encountered him at various times and built a relationship with his team as he appeared at these, kinds of, conservative confabs.

And what she's describing is how you would get in touch with Donald Trump, right? You would make a connection with Keith. He -- Schiller. He would give you -- you would give him your number. He would take yours. And then if Donald Trump wanted to get in touch with you, that's what would happen.

TAPPER: So, it's --

HUNT: Why they're going through all of this.

TAPPER: Yes. So, Stormy -- the jury is now seeing a photograph of Keith Schiller's entry in Stormy Daniels' phone, Keith Trump, it's called. She said it's because she didn't know Keith Schiller's last name, but she knew he worked for Donald Trump.

So, I guess that makes sense. Kind of a mundane detail. I do that a lot to help identify contacts, she says. She said she had another dinner, but her publicist encouraged her to go to dinner with Trump.